Cool crowd hot for winter style at fashion song & dance show
● With its parent company recently thrown another lifeline, the ball is now in Edgars’ court to up its game.
Well, Wednesday evening saw the clothing retailer put on a show to prove it just might have a fighting chance against stiff competition from overseas fast fashion imports like Cotton On, H&M and Zara.
Called the Break Out Fashion Show, this was the reveal of Edgars’ new winter collections and was held in its Sandton
City flagship store.
It was a bit of a song and dance affair featuring an energetic female rapper, a teeny DJ, a cooler-than-iced-tea crowd — and the threads were not too bad either. Walking into the store, transformed into a cool cocktail venue complete with red carpet, I say hello to “it girl” Kim
Jayde Robinson. Turns out that the MTV presenter is a frequent visitor to the store, but not necessarily to shop.
“I come here quite often when my family are visiting from Zim so they can see my commercial on loop, and check out the campaign pictures in the store,” says the Revlon ambassador. Then it’s greeting someone I haven’t seen in a while: vivacious Jessica Nkosi, who is back on the box and in the social whirl after giving birth to a baby girl, Namisa, in October last year.
Who is looking after the little one? I ask the Isibaya actress, expecting her to say Namisa’s dad, Uzalo actor Ntokozo Dlamini.
“My mom and my helper,” she explains. “My mom actually comes up every weekend [from the family home in Empangeni] to help out.”
Before the show, we snack on a variety of canapés by arguably the land’s most in-demand caterer, Vicky Crease, most of which are yummy like the sushi balls and pizza wraps conveniently served in paper cones, but others messy to juggle while holding a flute of champers, like mini burgers and tacos.
Into a part of the store where the fashion show was set up and I find myself seated across from those comedic Goliaths, Jason and Donovan. Around the room I spot celebrity makeup artist Gina Myers, Roxy Burger, Real Goboza TV presenter Mulisa Mudau (lit in her new cropped peroxide coif and oh-so-trendy camel-coat dress), A-lister Lerato Kganyago and newly single Metro FM DJ Quinton “Naked” Masina.
We are welcomed by dapper E! presenter Kat Sinivasan, who was great as the night’s MC, but his turn as a catwalk model was slightly less polished.
On come the models, and I like that the organisers picked a hip and diverse bunch to show off the threads, though the choreography feels a little too 1980s cheesy.
You’ll want to know about the threads, though, and standouts include a good number of beigehued pieces, a blinged-up crossbody bag and an on-trend women’s
The organisers picked a hip and diverse bunch to show off the threads
check bomber jacket which is bound to get those tills ka-ching-ing.
I am impressed that Edgars’ home brands like Kelso and Stone Harbour have upped the ante in style stakes.
The night’s stand-out though, has to be the entertainment.
Tsonga rapper Sho Madjozi enthralls with her energetic set and that pint-sized disc spinner, Oratile AJ Hlongwane, known as DJ Arch, proves why he recently got a standing ovation from Simon Cowell when he appeared on America’s Got Talent: The Champions.